


Toph Therapy

by spacedao



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Ace Toph, Aro Toph, Chronic Pain, Day drinking, Gen, I guess? Toph isn't "of age" by american standards but like.. this is, Implied/Referenced Arranged Marriage, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Post-Canon, Underage Drinking, bi sokka, gay Zuko, so?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-17 19:00:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29230404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacedao/pseuds/spacedao
Summary: Zuko has a hard time confronting his feelings and Toph helps him out
Relationships: Toph Beifong & Zuko, pre Sokka/Zuko
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23
Collections: HZH Palentine's Day 2021





	Toph Therapy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [vandrell](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vandrell/gifts).



> Happy Palentine's, Kit! Hope you like it!
> 
> _This is unbetaed excepted for running it through Grammarly a few times so all mistakes are mine!_

"So, what's got you all thunder-brained today, Sparky?"

Zuko startled slightly at Toph's voice, having almost forgotten the blind bender was there as he turned away from the sunset to face her. Her eyes were fixed in the middle distance, but her feet were draped in his lap in a way that could be disguised as lounging, but both knew it was more than that.

He lifted one shoulder in a half-hearted and rather unconvincing shrug, turning back to the sky before answering. "I'm not _thunder-brained_ ," he muttered, cheeks flushing despite his best attempts to cull the reaction. In true Toph nature, the metalbender had tacked nicknames onto Zuko's states of mind and took it upon herself to be aware of where he was mentally whenever they were together. "I'm just tired."

It wasn't a complete lie as he _was_ tired (running an entire country at 19 was more challenging than it seemed), but he knew that wasn't what was plaguing his mind, and he could tell from the expression on Toph's face that she knew it too.

"You've always been a terrible liar, Zuko, but that was just sad," she snorted, pushing herself up from the roof tiles and fixing him with a concerned look. "But seriously, what's up? You're more broody than usual, and you could probably go against an angry herd of leopard-wasps and win with how out of it you are."

Zuko sighed, sitting up slightly and running his finger around the lip of the mostly empty bottle of plum wine they'd.. borrowed from the royal stores and cracked open hours ago. Despite being slightly tipsy, he still couldn't drag his thoughts away from one person and winced slightly as his heart stuttered slightly as the ghostly lips brushed against his skin. With a groan, Zuko flopped back down against the shingles and pressed the palm of his hand against his eye until it hurt and he could see stars. 

It didn't help. For the past fortnight, the rather tactile memory of Sokka pressing a soft kiss against his forehead with his stupid soft lips before climbing into an air balloon had pushed itself to the forefront of his mind, making his already terrible sleep schedule that much worse in the process. Logically, he knew the kiss probably hadn't meant anything as Sokka had always been affectionate and touchy with the group—especially once they no longer needed to worry about the war—but that didn't stop him from thinking about it over and over again.

Every time he had the barest moment of free time, the memory would overtake his thoughts, and Zuko felt like he was going to lose his mind. A rough shove knocked him out of his thoughts, and his eyes snapped open, lifting his hand as his head shifted towards his friend guiltily. "Spirits, I'm a terrible friend. We finally get to see each other, and I keep zoning out," he sighed, running his hands through his hair.

"Yeah, no shit." Zuko shot her a withering glare, knowing she wouldn't be able to see the look but taking satisfaction in the action, regardless. "Look, it doesn't bother me much. You know I'm always down for just sitting silently and relaxing, but.. whatever is making you so," she continued, only pausing to wave her hand over him with a faint sound. "Just tell me if it's dangerous. I'm worried about you."

"No," he huffed, nose scrunching in amusement. Dangerous to his heart and mental wellbeing, perhaps, but not to the wellbeing of the world. "Definitely not dangerous."

He could feel her eyes lingering on him for a moment longer before she nodded, relaxing against the roof once more and making grabby hands for the drink. Zuko knew she was perfectly content to wait and let him figure out his thoughts before voicing them, and he was glad Toph was the one who was lying on the rooftop with him today. He appreciated all of his friends, of course, but he couldn't talk to them the same way he could with the youngest member of their group. 

Katara was soft and calming like the water she bent—good for his most sleepless weeks, skillfully flowing into his deepest cracks and drawing out worries he wasn't even aware he had. The problem also involved her brother, so that was.. out of the question. 

Like his air, Aang was good for when he was overstressed and fretting over this policy and that policy. His joyful nature always made Zuko laugh and helped him calm down, and he knew that he held the wisdom of many lifetimes, but it just.. didn't feel _right_ to bother him with a problem as stupid as his.. feelings. 

Frankly, Suki was terrifying, but it was nice to spar with her when he had too much pent up energy and got in one of his—as she called them—Croco-kitten moods. And Sokka.. well, Sokka was the _problem_ , so he clearly couldn't talk to him about anything. And while he would never tell the younger bender that he'd never have reached out to her about this, Toph had always been good at sensing when he needed help. While she often put on an aggressive front, Toph was strong and stable like her earth, and she was willing to wait out his emotional constipation and let him work through it slowly. She was just right.

"Toph, have.. have you ever been in love?" Zuko asked after a moment, unsure why he suddenly needed to know, and stubbornly kept his eyes focused on the horizon. His heart was fluttering as he waited (from nerves or from the permanent damage of getting electrocuted twice, he didn't know), and he felt her feet shift closer to his chest, just inches from his starburst scar in response before letting out a low hum.

"Depends on what you mean by ' _in love,'"_ she snorted, pausing to tip the bottle back and drain most of it before wiping her mouth. "I never really concerned myself with the matters of the heart—too busy getting in fights and then, you know.. ending a war—but back home, it was pretty common for children of high society families like me to be paired off young. Arranged marriages and all. I think my parents wanted to ship me off and play the role of doting blind wife to this boy from the other side of town—don't remember his name, but I ran away with Aang and everyone else before we could meet, so it doesn't matter, I guess."

"It's like that in the Fire Nation, too," Zuko nodded, chewing on his lip. His heart clenched slightly at the thought of Toph being in a loveless relationship like his own parents and he groaned, lifting one hand and pinching the bridge of his nose. "At least for Firelords, it was. I- Mai and I, we were supposed to be betrothed, but I didn't.. I'm not.."

She was silent, but he could feel her gaze turn to him attentively as he moved his hand to rub at where his eyebrow would be, if not for the scar. "The Fire Nation isn't _great_ with people who are different," he mumbled. "It's illegal, actually. For people w-who like other people of the, uh, same gender to be together. People like.."

Zuko stops before he can finish, choking on the realisation that if he freed the words caught in his throat that they'd be _permanent_ and far too real for him to handle at the moment. He wasn't ashamed of the label; of course not: Mai and Ty Lee were great partners, and even Azula had found someone she could bond with, in a way that was both healthy and healing. It was just.. he'd never been able to apply the word to himself without having a panic attack, and from the way Toph shifted closer and let her hand press against his arm, he had a feeling that she knew what he couldn't verbalise and it made him feel better.

"So legalise it, Zuko. You're the spirits-damned Fire Lord," she responded after a moment.

"It's not that I don't want to.. it's just that the _council.._ "

" _Fuck_ the council," she snapped, making him jump at the sudden tone change as she sat up and glared at him with a frightening intensity. "Look, Sparky.. I may not get love and feelings and shit, but I know that you deserve to be happy. Your _people_ deserve to be happy, and you shouldn't let some ancient bullshit law stand in the way. So repeal it and if anyone tries to give you shit for it, just call me. Okay?"

"Okay.." he huffed with a watery laugh-like sound, biting his lips to hold back the tears that threatened to roll down his cheeks as Toph gave him a firm nod before flopping back down with her hands behind her head. The fierceness in which Toph spoke reminded him of Uncle—if Iroh was short, angry, blind, and capable of bending earth. Zuko was sure the older man would have some odd proverb about love and how it related to tea that he'd be able to apply in this situation but knew he wouldn't be able to recall the exact wording. It didn't help that he also hadn't seen his Uncle in at least six months—only knowing that the tea shop was doing well from their frequent letters and made a mental reminder to visit Ba Sing Se soon.

"Thanks, Toph," he managed after a moment, trying to mask the tremor in his voice and his hands. He hadn't left the palace expecting to have a deep heart-to-heart conversation while sitting on a roof and watching the sunset and _certainly_ wasn't drunk enough for this, but he was glad he'd gotten everything off his chest. Toph nodded once, lifting her hand and barely giving the firebender enough time to brace himself before slamming her fist into his arm roughly.

"No problem, Sparky," she grinned as he rubbed at the throbbing muscle with a slight pout. "Now, let's go get some spicy noodles. All this talk about love has me starving."

He snorted and rolled his eyes, pushing her feet off of his lap as he stood up and stretched his back. "Yeah, sure.." he sighed, pulling his hair back into a topknot before reaching down with one hand to pull her upright as well.

⇼⇼⇼

Zuko's eyes burned as he stared into the bright, cloudless sky impatiently, the sun shining in his face as he just barely kept himself from pacing back and forth. Sokka had been gone for 6 months and was meant to return today from his trip back down South, and to say Zuko wasn't excited would be a lie, as evidenced by the way he'd nearly sprinted from his last meeting to make it down to the airship docks.

He'd done a lot of (over)thinking since his talk with Toph a few days ago, analysing every interaction he'd had since joining the group three years ago and came to the startling conclusion that the reason the kiss had been plaguing his mind was simple—he _liked_ Sokka. He hadn't been able to pinpoint a definite point that he could label as the start of his.. infatuation. Still, it was enough for him to say, at the risk of sounding childish, that he like-liked the other warrior, and while that scared him deeply, it was a relief to finally be able to focus on something other than that brief interaction.

"Sir."

A light tap on his shoulder from his guard drew him from his thoughts, catching the barest glimpse of dark blue coasting towards them slowly. "Sokka.." he breathed absently, unable to stop the smile that spread across his lips as he lifted one hand in greeting in an attempt to maintain some form of professionalism. He could hear his guards holding back their laughter but ignored it, dropping his arm and pressing his nails into his palm in an attempt to keep himself still. Despite the vessel still being a few feet from the ground, he could just barely make out the Water Tribe warrior shuffling around in the basket until he could reach the front to wave back at him excitedly.

"-ko!" he called, cupping his hands around his mouth in a failed attempt to make the sound travel farther. Zuko laughed softly, stepping forward until he was close enough to hear him properly as the basket made its final descent onto the ground. "How are ya, buddy?"

"I'm good, Sokka, and you?" he asked with an easy smile, reaching up to take his bags and absently taking inventory of the man in front of him. He'd changed a lot over the years (and even more so during his absence), shooting up until he was taller than Zuko by a head and putting on some muscle. Even favouring his left leg—the bone had never healed properly after the comet, despite Katara's best attempts, and his trips down South always made the pain flare-up—Sokka stood tall and was looking more and more like a future Chief every day.

Wait-- Zuko paused and turned to face his friend again, a frown appearing on his face as he realised he was hobbling. "Where's your cane?"

A light blush flashes across Sokka's cheek, and he lifts one shoulder in a shrug, quickly leaning against Zuko as the firebender passes the luggage to his guards and carefully loops one arm around his side to bear most of his weight. "Okay, don't tell Toph, but it's kinda at the bottom of the southern ocean?"

"At.. Sokka, how did you even manage to do that?"

"Hey!" he retorted with a laugh, swatting at Zuko with an amused smile as they limped towards his palanquin slowly. His free hand moved down to his waist to pat the boomerang secured there before continuing. "Don't blame me! It's not my fault the handle feels remarkably similar to Boomy."

Zuko snorted softly and rolled his eyes, all but shoving the other man into the padded carriage before clambering in after him. Toph had spent ages carving Sokka a beautiful cane out of stone, complete with wave motifs curling into the handle, and she was going to be furious if she found out that her hard work was somewhere at the bottom of the sea, miles away from where its owner was. "She's going to kill you as soon as she finds out."

"So, let's make sure she doesn't!"

"It's Toph, Sokka. How long do you think it's going to take for that plan to fall apart, huh?"

"Shut up," he laughed, grin growing impossibly wider as he draped himself across Zuko's legs dramatically before letting out a long sigh with one hand against his forehead. "Take pity on me, jerkbender, I'm injured!"

"And you guys called _me_ dramatic," Zuko snorted, shoving his friend's face away from his lap playfully as his heart did that little stutter-step it often did when he was around Sokka. "I'll give you a massage when we get ho- _back_ to the Palace." 

Sokka's face lit, and he wrapped Zuko in a tight hug that made his face warm before sliding to his side of the carriage. "I knew there was a reason we kept you around," he teased, winking with a wide grin as Zuko turned away, hoping the weak sun filtering through would hide it as Sokka launched into an excited rant about his trip absently.

He wouldn't tell him.. not yet. The right time would come someday, but, for now, he was content to simply have his friend by his side again.


End file.
